The most important way to cope with this disease, in which male patients with diabetes, smokers and hypertension carry risk factors, is to quit smoking and start walking!
Assoc. Dr. Habib Çil explains the diagnosis and treatment methods of this disease, which causes the risk of paralysis and loss of limbs. I wish everyone a healthy, happy week with lots of walking.
What is Peripheral Artery Disease?
The heart is the central hub of the circulatory center. The word periphery means far from the center. Peripheral artery disease refers to diseases of the heart and vessels other than the heart vessels. Peripheral vascular diseases refer to stenosis and occlusion of the carotid veins (carotid artery), abdominal aortic region, lower extremity arteries (leg veins) and upper extremity arteries (arteries feeding the arms).
Who Gets Peripheral Artery Disease?
Peripheral artery disease almost always develops due to vascular lubrication (atherosclerosis). Factors that cause blockage of our heart vessels also cause peripheral artery disease, and moreover, most peripheral artery patients also have cardiovascular disease. Risk factors are diabetes, smoking, hypertension, male gender, high cholesterol and advanced age. Therefore, it would be appropriate to evaluate people with these risk factors for peripheral artery disease. It is also beneficial for people with cardiovascular disease to undergo an in-depth examination for peripheral vascular disease.
What Complaints Does Peripheral Artery Disease Cause?
In peripheral artery disease. The complaints are related to the affected vein. If there is a stenosis in the carotid (carotid) vein, a thrombus (clot) originating from there may head to the brain and block one of the terminal vessels there, causing a stroke (paralysis). In this case, with early intervention, it may be possible to dissolve the clot by various methods and to open the stenosis area causing the clot. If this is done early (preferably in the first 2-4 weeks), recurrent strokes can be prevented.
Be careful of limping!
If the clogged veins are the veins going to our legs, A walking pattern in the form of intermittent claudication (claudicatio intermitant) usually develops due to burning, pain and numbness in the legs, thigh area or below the knee area, which develops when walking a certain distance. Most of the time, our patients can continue walking only after resting for a certain period of time.
If there is a blockage in the veins in the knee area, redness or wounds develop that start from the toes and cannot heal, which is a serious situation that can often end badly. If these veins are not treated quickly, unfortunately, it may lead to gangrene and amputation (surgical cutting) of the foot or even the leg in question. Of course, our first goal is to diagnose the patient and complete his treatment before reaching this stage. However, even when foot wounds begin, it is possible to heal these wounds and save the leg with appropriate treatment.
Can You Tell Us About the Treatment Method?
Just like in cardiovascular disease, the priority here is drug treatment and lifestyle change. The aim is to quit smoking, control diabetes, cholesterol and hypertension, and make the patient's leg veins wider by taking plenty of walks. Our main slogan, especially for leg vascular patients; “Stop smoking and walk!”.
In the second stage, depending on the location and characteristics of the patient and the disease (this is almost always determined by angiography), the decision on interventional or surgical treatment is made. is given.
Peripheral artery disease is a serious group of diseases that threaten our freedom of movement by causing both the risk of stroke and loss of limbs.
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